Western Pacific Region Immunization Week 2017, 24-30 April 2017

Despite the proven effectiveness of vaccines and the tens of millions of lives they have saved, an estimated 400 000 people die needlessly every year in the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Western Pacific Region from diseases that vaccines could prevent.

Vaccines save up to 3 million lives each year worldwide from infectious diseases, such as hepatitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles and polio. Still, nearly 2.3 million children in the Region each year are not fully immunized against these threats.

Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions and prevents between two and three million deaths every year globally. Immunization protects against diseases such as diphtheria, measles, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumonia, polio, rotavirus diarrhoea, rubella and tetanus. The benefits of immunization are increasingly being extended from infants to children, adolescents, adults, and older adults providing protection against life-threatening diseases such as influenza, meningitis, and cancer (cervical and liver).

Several materials are available for download - for countries who wish to make customized posters, announcements, etc. We will be uploading even more materials in the coming days leading to Immunization Week.

World Immunization Week 2017

28 March 2017 -- World Immunization Week, which is held from 24-30 April 2017, aims to raise awareness about the critical importance of full immunization throughout life, and its role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.